Padmashri Alarmel Valli is one of the most outstanding classical dancers of India. She bases her art on the principle that Bharatanatyam is a superbly evocative language, where the dancer who has mastered the idiom can write her personal dance-poetry. An internationally acclaimed creative artist, her work reveals the infinite spaces within the traditional form of Bharatanatyam. While remaining within the broad framework of classical Bharatanatyam, her art is always contemporary in its interpretation and in its scope to communicate internationally.

Groomed from an early age by Sri Subbaraya Pillai, she is the foremost exponent of the Pandanallur style of the dance form. Her artistic vision was further enriched by her study of Odissi (under the renowned maestro Kelucharan Mohapatra) and music (under the eminent singer T Mukta). She is well known for her dance interpretations of Sangam poetry from ancient Tamil literature.

Smt. Valli is the recipient of innumerable awards including Kalaimamani (1979) from State of TamilNadu. She was the youngest dancer to receive the Padmashri (1991) from the President of India. In 1997 she was honored with the Grande Medaille de la Ville de Paris from the City of Paris.

The New York Times describes her as “… that rare thing - the solo performer who puts all others out of mind”. The Montreal Gazette compares her presence to that of memorable ballet dancers, “Valli holds the stage with the presence of a Nureyev and the professionalism and brilliance of technique of a Baryshnikov”.

Valli performs widely, premiere cultural venues and festivals in India and abroad. Some of the highlights of her career on the international scene would include her performances at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow at the Theatre De La Ville Festivals in Paris, the Vienna International Dance Festival and the New York International Festival of Arts.

More details about her are available at her website, www.alarmelvalli.com